Pocket stamp



C. LUDEWIGS' Oct. 9, 1934.

POCKET STAMP Filed Aug. 19, 1953 CII Cil

Patented ct. 9, 1934 f.

UNITED #STATES POCKET STAMP .Carl Ludewigs, Hamburg, Germany ApplicationAugust 19, 1933, Serial No. 685,947 in Germany May 23, 1933 v 4 Claims.

' This invention relates to a pocket stamp.

Rubber stamps of this class, which are secured to a metal disc and restin a metal container on a piece of felt saturated with marking ink areknown already. The use of such stamps requires sev ral manipulations.The metal container has to be opened, the rubber stamp must be pressedon the felt for inking and then taken out, so that the fing-ers can beeasily soiled with ink. Furthermore, the stamp is only insufficientlysupplied with ink, as the small piece of felt can take up very littlethereof, and the impressions produced will therefore be either too weakor show too much ink. The ink supply, moreover, will be exhausted veryquickly, which is particularly inconvenient in case of pocket stamps,since there is usually no opportunity of re-inking the felt.

The drawbacks are eliminated by the invention which provides a. metalcase containing in its lower portion the stamp and in its top portion aninking device. The upper and lower portions of the case areinterconnected by a helical spring disposed within a hinge so as tocause the cover to be turned back by spring power when two springs onthe front sides of the case are depressed simultaneously. Since the casecan be opened only by the simultaneous depression of both springs,accidental opening by one-sided pressure is thus avoided. Thisarrangement further permits opening and operation of the device by onehand.

1n the cover an ink receptacle is arranged by means of which the stampcan be inked for quite some time. The receptacle may consist, forinstance, of a perforated metal plate covered with an ink pad, theperforated plate being particularly advantageous by preventing the typeof the stamp from digging into the surface of the inking device. Thespace above this plate is lled with lcotton or the like which issaturated with ink which can be introduced through a lling plug. The inkpasses from the cotton saturated therewith to the pad and is transmittedby the latter to the stamp when the case is closed by means of itscover.

The stamp is disposed in the lower portion of the case and mounted on ablock of wood, metal or the like, which is controlled by a helicalspring. Owing to this resilient arrangement, the inking surface willfirmly hug the rubber stamp in a position of inertia and ink the latterfor subsequent use. On the other hand, when the oase is opened theresilient block carrying the rubber stamp is held back by a pawl whichis laterally displaced 55l when the cover is closed. In this way itbecomes (or. 10i-33s) possible to employ rubber stamps of any diameterin the device and to bring about, in a position of rest, a slightspring-actuated pressure of the stamp relative tothe inking surface toensure good inking.

The stamp can be interchangeably secured in the device which thus may beused for a number of stamps. The device may further be constructed asdate-stamp in known manner with the stamps secured to endless rubberbands.

1n addition to being used for rubber stamps, the device may be employedalso in connection with metal stamps and oil-containing ink.

By Way of example, the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Figure 1 is a section of the device, seen from theside, in opened condition, and Fig. 2 is a section of the device inclosed condition.

Referring to the drawing, the case receiving the pocket stamp and theinking device comprises the lower part 1 and the cover 2. The lower part1 contains the stamp block 3 and the stamp 4. The block 3 is actuated bythe helical spring 5 which presses the stamp 4 when in a position ofrest against the ink pad 6 covering the perforated plate 7. The space inthe cover 2 behind the pad 6 and plate 7 is filled withA the cotton 8which can be saturated with ink after removal of the screw 9. To theblock 3 the elastic pawl 10 is secured which locks the block 3 when thecase is Opened and which is pressed aside by the cover 2 during closingof the case, so that the block 3, against the action of the spring 5,can be pushed into the lower portion 1 in such a way that the stamp 4 ispressed against the pad 6.

I claim:-

1. A pocket stamp including a lower casing member, an upper casingmember hinged to the lower casing member at one edge thereof, a stampblock slidably mounted in the lower casing member for prot-ractiontherefrom and retraction therein of one end of the block, a stampcarried by the protractible end of the block, spring means urging theblock to protracted position, and latch means carried by the block andengageable over the hinged edge of the lower casing member uponprotraction of the block to prevent retraction thereof, said coverengaging the latch means upon closing of the cover and thereby forcingthe latch means out of engagement with said hinged edge to permitretraction of the block.

2. A pocket stamp including a lower casing member, an upper casingmember hinged to the lower casing member at one edge thereof, a stampblock slidably mounted in the lower casing memllo ber for protractiontherefrom and retraction therein of one end of the block, a stampcarried by the protractible end of the block, spring means urging theblock to protracted position, and latch means carried by the block andengageable over the hinged edge of the lower casing member uponprotraction of the block to prevent retraction thereof, the walls ofsaid casing members being alined when the casing is closed, whereby thewall of the cover adjacent the hinge engages the latch means andreleases it to permit retraction of the block as the cover is closed onthe lower casing member.

3. A pocket stamp including a lower casing member, an upper casingmember hinged to the lower casing member at one edge thereof, a stampblock slidably mounted in the lower casing member for protractiontherefrom and retraction therein of one end of the block, a stampcarried by the protractible end ofthe block, spring means urging theblock to protracted position, latch means carried by the block andengageable over the hinged edge of the lower casing member uponprotraction of the block to prevent retraction thereof, said coverengaging the latch means upon closing of the cover and thereby forcingthe latch means out of engagement with said hinged edge to permitretraction of the block, and a pad in said cover positioned to engagethe stamp and force it downwardly upon closing of the cover.

4. A pocket stamp including a lower casing member, an upper casingmember hinged to the lower casing member at one edge thereof, a stampblock slidably mounted in the lower casing member for protractiontherefrom and retraction therein of one end of the block, a stampcarried by the protractible end of the block, spring means urging theblock to protracted position, latch means carried by the block andengageable over the hinged edge of the lower casing member uponprotraction of the block to prevent retraction thereof, the walls ofsaid casing members being alined when the casing is closed, whereby theWall of the cover adjacent the hinge engages the latch means andreleases it to permit retraction of the block as the cover is closed onthe lower casing member, and a pad in said cover positioned to engagethe stamp and force it downwardly upon closing of the cover.

CARL LUDEWIGS.

